ChineseTiger1986
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- Jan 27, 2010
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BEIJING - The Chinese exploration rig at the center of a maritime standoff with Vietnam earlier this year has made its first deep sea gas discovery in the South China Sea, state media announced Tuesday.
The find by China National Offshore Oil Corp's two-year-old, $1 billion deep sea rig is about 150 kilometers south of China's southernmost island of Hainan. It's unclear whether the discovery will become commercially viable, but the announcement represents a significant step in China's ability to seek resources beneath the South China Sea.
The find was China's first without the participation of foreign partners that in the past have included companies such as Chevron and BP, said Felix Tan, a Beijing-based analyst for energy and resources consultant Wood MacKenzie.
"This is the first discovery they've done all by themselves,'' Tan said in an interview. CNOOC has rapidly developed a deep-water exploration capability, he said.
"It's a bit premature to talk about the viability'' of the field, however, Tan said. "There are a lot of tests to be done.''
The gas field was discovered Aug 18 at a depth of about 1,500 meters, CNOOC said on its website.
The depth is at the extreme cusp of what the industry considers a deep-water field, or those from 400 to 1,500 meters. Below 1,500 meters would be ultra-deep, where extraordinary pressures make the building of facilities extremely difficult.
Xinhua said the field's viability is still to be proven, but quoted a CNOOC manager, Xie Yuhong, as saying the well could be capable of producing up to 56.5 million cubic feet of gas per day, or about 9,400 barrels.
China rig finds gas after Vietnam sea standoffNation - China Daily Asia
The find by China National Offshore Oil Corp's two-year-old, $1 billion deep sea rig is about 150 kilometers south of China's southernmost island of Hainan. It's unclear whether the discovery will become commercially viable, but the announcement represents a significant step in China's ability to seek resources beneath the South China Sea.
The find was China's first without the participation of foreign partners that in the past have included companies such as Chevron and BP, said Felix Tan, a Beijing-based analyst for energy and resources consultant Wood MacKenzie.
"This is the first discovery they've done all by themselves,'' Tan said in an interview. CNOOC has rapidly developed a deep-water exploration capability, he said.
"It's a bit premature to talk about the viability'' of the field, however, Tan said. "There are a lot of tests to be done.''
The gas field was discovered Aug 18 at a depth of about 1,500 meters, CNOOC said on its website.
The depth is at the extreme cusp of what the industry considers a deep-water field, or those from 400 to 1,500 meters. Below 1,500 meters would be ultra-deep, where extraordinary pressures make the building of facilities extremely difficult.
Xinhua said the field's viability is still to be proven, but quoted a CNOOC manager, Xie Yuhong, as saying the well could be capable of producing up to 56.5 million cubic feet of gas per day, or about 9,400 barrels.
China rig finds gas after Vietnam sea standoffNation - China Daily Asia
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, don't worry our oil rigs will be back soon 
